By Marc Fong //
The Independent’s 10th Anniversary featuring DJ Shadow with Bleep Bloop, Visuals by Ben Stokes //
The Independent – San Francisco
February 22nd, 2014 //
The Independent is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with more than just a birthday party. Instead, it’s throwing one hell of a week-long rager. Allen Stone, John Butler Trio, Beats Antique, Two Gallants, Rebelution and Girl Talk are among the acts taking the stage during The Independent’s anniversary week. And let us not forget trip-hop master, DJ Shadow.
Last Saturday, he took to the decks (“He don’t need no laptop!”) and treated the sold-out house to some of his special brand of magic. Haunting, crisp beats thumped through the crowd while smooth-as-silk mixes blended the new with familiar. Shadow created a cool, dark vibe with thick bass beats and his infamous scratching amongst a stunning light show and wispy fog.
Some of the crowd nodded their cocked heads to the lonely beats with lightheadedness; others gawked in awe at Ben Stoke’s visuals behind the mix-master. Shadow only interrupted the trance-y party to wish The Indy happy anniversary and to thank the crowd. It was a late night, but well worth the wait to see DJ Shadow on stage at The Independent!
Um, you must have been at a different show. Not only did Shadow yap incessantly through his set (sort of a trademark the past few tours) but he now fancies himself as a dubstep pioneer (“this is the most current shit, people”). The net result is that it fell totally flat. The only thing that saved the evening were the aforementioned visuals.
For a (former) trip-hop pioneer that looms as large as DJ Shadow, it’s truly an embarrassment to hear him “dumb” things down to try to reel in the kiddos. Blech.